Dicker and Deal/ Michael´s Pub

Dicker and Deal owner Gary Potter said last week that he has purchased the building intown that was formerly home to Coscarelli’s Restaurant & Lounge, 2420 S. Cedar St. in Lansing. Potter said he intends to make the building his new headquarters after a massive renovation project. He won’t have far to go — his original location is 1701 S. Cedar St., about a mile up the street.

“I’m looking forward to a having a new look with more room and more parking,” Potter said. “And it’ll be nice to have everything on one floor. Some of us are getting old — we can’t carry (heavy equipment) up the stairs anymore.”

Coscarelli’s opened in 1976, but after it closed in 2008 the building has sat vacant. Before it was a restaurant, Potter said the 15,000 square foot space had served as a drug store, a gun shop and a dry cleaner. He said because of the chemicals used by the dry cleaner, there are “environmental issues” that must be dealt with before he can begin work.

Potter said architects have started to put together drawings for him, but he’s not sure exactly what it will look like yet. He said he bought the building for $235,000 and expects to do between $300,000 and $600,000 in renovations.

In 1973, he co-founded Dicker and Deal with his brother-in-law, but Potter became the sole owner two years later. He later opened the business that became Music Manor (he still has part ownership of it) at 333 S. Cedar St. in Lansing, as well as Moose Creek, a gun shop in the headquarters’ lower level. The Dicker and Deal at 710 E. Kalamazoo St., Lansing, opened in 1994. He also owns two check-cashing centers, one at 1917 W. Saginaw St. on Lansing’s west side and one in Jackson.

Michael’s no more? There’s been a “Temporarily closed” sign in the window of downtown Lansing’s Michael’s Pub for the last three weeks. There are rambling accusations and complaints on the bar’s Facebook page, but business owner Michael Speese deferred questions about paychecks and coupon honoring to building owner Douglas Nylander, who didn’t return a call for a comment. Nylander also owns the Lansing-based Nylander Construction.

The bar was known as Brannigan Brothers from 2002 until it closed in August 2012. After a renovation, it opened last December as J’s Pub before changing names to Michael’s in April.